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The lawyer for Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) denied allegations that his pardon from US President Donald Trump was a part of a ”pay-for-play” deal.
Throughout an look on Anthony Pompliano’s “Pomp Podcast,” Teresa Goody Guillén mentioned the criticism round her consumer’s pardon is a “pile up of a whole lot of false statements.”
She mentioned the request adopted the usual authorities overview course of, passing by means of the Justice Division’s pardon legal professional and the White Home Counsel’s Workplace earlier than reaching Trump’s desk.
Democratic lawmakers, together with Senator Elizabeth Warren, have alleged that Zhao’s pardon was politically motivated and tied to Binance’s assist for the Trump household’s World Liberty Monetary. Guillén rejected these claims, saying there was no proof WLFI was Trump’s firm.
“Individuals are making these assumptions that simply present a basic misunderstanding of how both enterprise works or how blockchain works,” she mentioned. “You must write up the justification, after which quite a lot of individuals look by means of it.”
WLFI Not Actually Trump’s Undertaking
CZ’s private lawyer mentioned that she has not “seen something” that reveals her that WLFI is certainly Trump’s firm.
And whereas Binance has listed the mission’s governance token and its USD1 stablecoin, Guillén famous that many different main platforms have additionally listed them.
WLFI markets (Supply: CoinMarketCap)
CZ Pardon Was Justice, Lawyer Says
CZ was sentenced to 4 months in jail in 2024 for violating the US Financial institution Secrecy Act when he did not implement correct Anti-Cash Laundering (AML) and Know Your Buyer (KYC) controls at Binance. As a part of a plea deal, he needed to step down from his position on the time because the change’s CEO along with the jail sentence.
Trump pardoned him in October, saying the Binance co-founder was locked away for one thing that “wasn’t a criminal offense” through the former Joe Biden administration’s “witch hunt” on crypto.
Guillén mentioned her consumer was “pardoned for justice” as a result of he was a scapegoat for the Biden administration’s battle on crypto.
“I believe it was a part of the battle on crypto, and at that time, this was shut after the FTX collapse and I believe that the battle in crypto needed to go in opposition to someone, they usually needed to prosecute someone and actually persecute somebody,” she mentioned, including that Binance and CZ had been focused.
She additionally mentioned that there have been previous situations the place CEOs of main conventional finance establishments have been discovered responsible of the identical prices as her consumer, however didn’t serve jail time.
In CZ’s case, Guillén mentioned that there was no fraud and no victims. There was no felony historical past both, she mentioned, including that jail sentences for the crimes CZ was discovered responsible of are an anomaly.
CZ Says Any Refund Of $4.3 Billion High-quality Will Be Invested In The US
Binance’s settlement settlement with regulators additionally included a $4.3 billion high quality, one of many largest in crypto’s historical past.
On X, one person requested CZ whether or not Binance will likely be refunded the $4.3 billion following the pardon. CZ mentioned this was a “delicate query.”
ah, delicate query.
1. I recognize the pardon already. There’s a steadiness in asking for extra vs “what’s truthful” vs recognize what you bought already.
2. IF we get any refund, we will likely be investing that in America anyway, to point out our appreciation.
Have not requested but, I believe🙏
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) November 17, 2025
He mentioned he appreciates the pardon, and that there’s a steadiness on the subject of “asking for extra vs ‘what’s truthful’ vs recognize what you bought already.”
“IF we get any refund, we will likely be investing that in America anyway, to point out our appreciation,” CZ added.
He mentioned he doesn’t assume Binance or his authorized crew have submitted a request for a refund but.
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